Star Trek V - The Final Frontier

Rating:
Summary: Not the best, but...
Review: This is certainly not the best of the Star Trek Movies, but it is not the worst. As a Trekkie I am proud to add William Shatner's contribution to MY Star Trek Movie DVD Collection.

Row, row, row your boat... :-)

Rating:
Summary: Final Frontier? No....almost the Final Film!
Review: What to make of Star Trek V: The Final Frontier? Of all the Star Trek feature films, the fifth entry in the series is considered by most fans to be the weakest and least satisfying. Even though it was produced by Harve Bennett, who had saved the franchise with Star Trek II, its plot -- a renegade Vulcan hijacks the starship Enterprise and takes it to the center of the galaxy on a quest to find God -- is rather pretentious and its director, William Shatner, learned that success at directing episodes of "T.J. Hooker" did not ensure success in the making of a multi-million dollar film.

Star Trek V is set a short time after The Voyage Home. It is the 23rd Century, and although Capt. James T. Kirk (Shatner) and his loyal crew have been assigned to the new Enterprise-A, their new starship turned out to be a lemon. Nothing seems to be working properly, so while chief engineer Montgomery Scott (James Doohan) and the rest of the crew make critical repairs to the starship's systems, Kirk, Spock (Leonard Nimoy) and Dr. "Bones" McCoy (DeForest Kelley) go down to Yosemite National Park for some R & R. The ever-restless (and somewhat reckless) Kirk tries to free climb El Capitan, but has to be saved by his half-human, half-Vulcan first officer when he loses his grip and nearly falls to his death. Later, Kirk says to his friends that he was not afraid as he fell because he knew they were there. "I've always known I'll die alone," he reveals in one of the movie's rare poignant moments.

But the idyllic campout is cut short when a shuttlecraft piloted by Cmdr. Uhura (Nichelle Nichols) lands nearby with bad news. Shore leave has been canceled and all officers are to report back to the Enterprise. Sure enough, no sooner does Kirk step inside the bridge than Admiral Bob Bennett (Harve Bennett in a cameo) informs the captain that a group of terrorists has taken over the planet Nimbus III, the "Planet of Galactic Peace." Ostensibly a first attempt at peaceful collaboration between the Federation, the Klingons and the Romulan Empire, Nimbus III has become a desolate dumping ground for the undesirables and unlucky of the three major powers. Kirk's mission is to take the Enterprise to Nimbus III and mount a rescue mission as quickly as possible.

The terrorists, led by Sybok, a Vulcan renegade (Laurence Luckinbill), are holding three delegates from the three "owners" of Nimbus III hostage. Their goal: to lure a starship so that Sybok and his followers can go to the center of the galaxy in search of the mythical planet Sha-Ka-Ree, the planet from which all Creation emerged.

Kirk is shocked when he learns that Sybok is not only a Vulcan who rejects the suppression of all emotions and believes that God lives on Sha-Ka-Ree; he's also Spock's half-brother from his father Sarek's first marriage to a Vulcan princess. Now Sybok has re-entered Spock's life and hopes to enlist him into his cause...creating conflict within Spock's heart, and causing tension between first officer and captain.

Not only does Kirk have to deal with a renegade Vulcan and the possible defection of a loyal friend, but a Klingon Bird of Prey -- assigned to rescue the Klingon member of Nimbus III's troika -- is on the prowl. Commanded by a young and aggressive Klingon captain, the Bird-of-Prey chases the Enterprise into the radiation-rich center of the galaxy....

To give Shatner credit, there were many reasons for Star Trek V's less-than-stellar performance at the box office. In the wake of Star Trek IV's huge crossover success, producer Bennett had hoped that writer Nicholas Meyer would be available to write the screenplay for the fifth Trek film. Unfortunately, Meyer wasn't on hand at the time, so David Loughery was hired to pen the script based on a story by Bennett and Shatner. The hope was, as Walter Koenig (Cmdr. Pavel Chekov) told an audience at a Star Trek convention in 1989 (before the film was released) to recreate The Voyage Home's mix of humor and adventure, with a meaningful message tacked on as well.

Making matters worse, the special effects by Brian Ferren and Associates are pretty cheap looking, and budgetary pressures watered down many of Shatner's original concepts (including an opening scene that was the reverse of what would be Star Trek: First Contact's opening shot).

As a result, fans largely denounced the over ambitious story and its low rent production values, Star Trek V. Even Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry gave it a seal of disapproval, saying that some of its storyline (the Sybok character, one supposes) was apocryphal.

Paramount has given this runt of the litter the Collector's Edition treatment, bundling the film on one disc (with director Shatner providing commentary) with a second disc featuring behind-the-scenes features. If you're a must-have-the-whole-set type of DVD collector, buy this one for the sake of completeness. Otherwise, skip it and wait for the Collector's Edition of Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.

Rating:
Summary: Moronic, or Misunderstood?
Review: With the new release of the Special Collector's Edition of Star Trek V on DVD, I thought it would be a good time to review the picture.

What can I say? ST:5 is weak on many levels.

First, the ship's crew is way too small, less than a skeleton crew (they had like, what, five trainees besides the Classic cast?). Second, the ship is far more buggy than it should be. It's not as if General Dynamics builds these things, after all, it's suppossed to be a starship! A few bugs, sure, but to be in as bad a shape as the new ship is strains credibility.

Then there's the whole "barrier" thing. As any Trek fan worth his toy tricorder knows, the "barrier" is not at the center of the galaxy, but at the edge. It's also supposed to be pink, not Indiglo blue. Of course, they simply should have called this new "barrier" something else, but be that as it may, this kind of slip highlights a certain basic sloppiness in the production. Also, the ship gets there way too quickly, and the skeleton crew is subverted to Sybok's vision too easily (is only Kirk capable of putting up a fight?).

And what about Sybok? "Where'd he come from?!" (or so I asked when I first saw the picture). Another good question would be, "Where'd he get all this power?! Regular Vulcans don't have it, so why should he?"

There's plenty of dopiness on hand to be sure, but if I had to point out any one element that brings the picture down, it would have to be the effects. As Shatner himself comments in one of the featurettes on the new disc, they "were not well-served" by the New Jersey-based effects team hired for the film. They were out of their league, and it shows.

The effects range from really interesting to really bad. The more interesting ones are almost totally confined to the luminous dyes and other elements used on the "God" planet. The worst effects are reserved for the starships. For example, when the Enterprise escapes a Kingon torpedo, the ship looks clunky and "pasted" onto the backgrounds, the sudden motion not realistic or believeable. Other shots share the poor movement, and the shabby lighting of the models just adds to the cheap-o look of the movie.

As for the entity imprisoned on Shakaree, it's a plot point taken directly from one of the animated Trek episodes, and was adapted into one of the "Log" books which recounted the animated episodes in novel-length form.

So, what we have here is a pretty weak Trek, with bad effects and a mish-mosh of dull plot points.

On the other hand, out of all the Trek movies, ST:5 feels the most like a television episode (no doubt, due mostly to Shatner's directing experience up to that point).

Lukinbill's Sybok is really a pretty interesting character. His ability to control others through charisma is excellently portrayed, too.

The Yosemite elements at the beginning and end of the film are the best and most personal depiction of the interaction between the triad of Kirk, Spock, and McCoy. The "visions" of Spock and McCoy are pretty powerful (some of Spock's vision were cut, and are on Disc 2 as an extra). The attack on Paradise City is well staged. Lots of action, and when Kirk gets attacked by the cat dancer, you don't even wonder why he went in the bar without having his phaser drawn. The humor used throughout the picture is also right on the money.

But despite all of the plusses, the film just doesn't seem to overcome all of the minuses. The film strikes an odd note at best, and is the pariah of Trek movies at the worst.

The DVD treatment of the film in the new 2-disc set is very nice. The animated menus are probably some of the best in the Trek movie sets so far, and there are plenty of interesting elements. Besides the usual intellegent documentaries (one dealing with the search for God), the Kingon couple is interviewed, and the "making of" documentary is comprehensive, (if a bit one-hand-tied-behind-its-back). Deleted scenes are on Disc 2 (pretty much all but the extended Spock-vision deserved to be cut, I think), and there is some rock-man footage that shows us what the monsters were supposed to have looked like. There is also a press conference held on the ST:5 bridge, and a video pitch from Harve Bennett to the Paramount sales staff. The extras earn it an extra star, I think, the movie being a "3".

The disc is worth adding to your collection, especially for Classic Trek fans. Time may have afforded fans the ability to forgive the film somewhat, as it is a product from the pre-sickeningly PC Trek of the 90's and today that fans are forced to suffer. Time may also help the fan hate the bad elements of the movie less, and appreciate the good elements of the movie more.

So is ST:5 moronic, or just misunderstood? Frankly, the answer is "both," but it's still strangely worth watching.

Rating:
Summary: "I NEED MY PAIN!"
Review: Sure, this movie's not the best in the Star Trek series but I still don't understand how it became the whipping boy of the franchise amongst fans. Critics are in good company as my dad hates this movie as well. But I still say "Final Frontier" is better than "Generations" and "Insurrection" and far and away better than the first movie and "Search for Spock." It's a shame Shatner's original vision was considered too contraversial, but the search for God in a Star Trek movie was still a pretty bold move and I feel the flaws in the movie weren't THAT bad. To show where I stand, here's my order of preference for all 10 Trek movies:

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
Star Trek: First Contact
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
Star Trek: Nemesis
Star Trek V: The Final Frontier
Star Trek: Insurrection
Star Trek: Generations
Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
Star Trek: The Motion Picture

Rating:
Summary: The worst trek movie
Review: This movie has continuity errors and is not very funny. They could have done better.

Rating:
Summary: a disappointment
Review: i had hoped the audio commentary,deleted scenes etc would make up for what the film itself lacked.they did'nt.

Rating:
Summary: Bring The Ship Closer...
Review: Well, I have just viewed my STAR TREK V: THE FINAL FRONTIER DVD, along with its special features! The movie is still a rather poorly crafted entry in the popular series compared to the other entries, but I still enjoy certain parts of it. Though mired by pitiful attempts at comedy, extremely bad special effects, and uneven story telling, the film still manages to succeed on other levels. The performances here are very good, not only from the regular returning crewmates, but from supporting cast members as well. Lawrence Luckinbill, who plays renegade Vulcan Sybok (a role originally offered to Sean Connery), gives a very inspired performance that carries the film quite well. No film explores the inner circle friendship between Kirk, Spock, and McCoy any better or any deeper than this one does. The only time our beloved crew members seem to fall flat is when they are placed in uncomfortable comedic situations (sprinkled throughout the story) that should never have made their way into the film. This installment is a truly a hit and miss affair to be sure!

The best part of the film is the entire sequence set in the ships forward observation deck where Sybok reveals McCoy's and Spock's pain. DeForest Kelley gives such a fine performance here, as do the others. If only the rest of the film could have been on this level of maturity and quality! The sequence probably is more successful due to being carried by the experienced performers as opposed to any other element. That and its actual lack of any humorous elements what-so-ever! To me, this section of the film is better than anything STAR TREK: INSURRECTION has to offer. William Shatner elaborates himself in the commentary that he would have liked for the film to have maintained these types of themes throughout. Interestingly enough, DeForest Kelley first objected to the scene due to a dispute over his character's motivations!

Speaking of the commentary, it was a good one overall with the slight exception of a few stretches of silence. I can honestly say that Bill Shatner was quite candid about his experience and what he wanted to make versus what he was allowed to make. The studio truly shares in the problems of this film. Their interference robbed Shatner of what could have been some pretty nice material. Their relentless schedule, lack of time for filming, and restricted budget also limited what was being done. This probably could have been waded through by an experienced director with better results, but if Paramount was not willing to trust Shatner, they shouldn't have given him the job from the get go. Overall, he did not come across as shifting blame in any way, but just simply telling stories of what the filming was like.

The deleted scenes were interesting, but nothing to write home about.

"MOUNT RUSHMORE" simply shows Sulu and Chekov bantering about whether this was the right choice of vacation as the camera pans up to reveal an unfinished matte painting of the infamous mountain with an additional sculpture of an African-American woman added to George Washington's right.
"INSULTS" was more entertaining than I thought it would be, detailing Romulan representative Caitlin Dar's enthusiasm over volunteering to work on Nimbus III, as Korrd insults her in Klingon.
"BEHOLD PARADISE" simply shows Sybok and his horde of merry men approaching Paradise City on foot. Sybok simply states "Behold...Paradise" and the camera pans down to empty desert with a horse running around in it to show where the special effect of the city would later be added.
"SPOCK'S PAIN" picks up at the end of his birth, where he tells Sybok that he failed because the issue has been resolved. Then you hear Sybok speaking to Spock in desperation from the past about his exile from Vulcan, and Spock expressing his desire to go with him. Spock asks where he will go and Sybok tells him that he will begin his search for Sha Ka Ree. This sequence is done with Lawrence Luckinbill and Leonard Nimoy reliving the past as opposed to an actual flashback.

The ROCKMAN IN THE RAW footage was very interesting and worth the wait. Text explains that the budget would not allow for ten creatures, so the story was altered for just one creature. It shows the creation of the suit and some test footage on a red lit, rocky set. The suit is actually very neat looking, with glowing red eyes and an animatronic face. I think they did a wonderful job on it, you just can't get past the fact that it is slow and cumbersome, and would make an exceptional villain for Godzilla! It simply wasn't enough to present an adequate threat to Kirk and crew in the film. Still, I was much more impressed with the effort than I ever thought I would be!

I really love the menus on these DVDs! Once again we are treated to nifty CGI recreations of key events from the film, which in this case looks better than anything the effects team of the actual film were able to muster! There are storyboard sections that show the original ideas for the whole Sha Ka Ree sequence of the film, from leaving the Enterprise to Kirk's rescue by the Klingons. The film really could have benefited from having been redone like STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE was, with some new effects following these old storyboards. Can you say "missed opportunity"? Naturally, I will be skipping the waste-of-time documentaries altogether, such as "Cosmic Thoughts" and "A Green Future" (I never watch that garbage on these discs, leaving me to wonder why Paramount goes through the trouble of including them???).

Overall I rated this DVD set three stars. That breaks down into two stars for the film itself and four stars for the Special Edition DVD that Paramount Home Video has been good enough to put together!

Rating:
Summary: Why didn't they back it?
Review: Star Trek V is a very good film. Shatner has taken much abuse over it, but I believe the fault (then & now) lies with Paramount. The Star Trek films have been their biggest property, and yet if you read about how these films were made you learn time and time again (at least after Star Trek I) that Paramount wouldn't loosen the purse strings an inch. They knew that these films WOULD make money - why be so tight-fisted? Same thing applies today. ST I gets some more cash to 'fix' it's problems, ST V is denied this. Can you imagine what Shatner could have done with just a little money & todays computer technology? Sybok's 'horde-lets' transformed into an army of thousands. More depth to the outer space shots. And the ending Shatner always planned - that would have been something to see! Paramount should be ashamed on how it has treated it's cash cow all these years. After all - if you don't believe me just look at the original DVDs of the feature films, whose idea of 'bonus' features was widescreen and having the trailer on it!

Rating:
Summary: Poor Story Redeemed by Character Moments
Review: Star Trek V ranks at or near the bottom of the Trek films for most fans and casual viewers. And upon viewing this on its special edition DVD, my opinion has not changed. This is a film that tries hard but ultimately fails due to poor plotting, sub-par special effects and poor character development.

The movie opens with probably the best scene in the film, where you meet Sybok and learn a little about his quest. The visuals alone in the opening shots are very impressive. Then, slowly, scene by scene, the movie falls apart. Yes, there are a few peaks in there, which I will discuss later, but overall, the idea of a "God Like Being" in the center of our galaxy, it just so illogical.

The movie has a lot of embarrassing and just plan bad moments. The first of which is the meeting of three characters who represent the "Planet of Galactic Peace." However, their intro is rushed and these characters are not given any depth at all. Why introduce us to these "important" characters if they care not going to be used in any meaningful (maybe one of them at the end) plot point at all? The direction by William Shatner also seems very uneven. Take the scene with Scotty and Uhura on the bridge. There is a very awkward moment of silence after their main dialogue is over. And the mugging Shatner does when McCoy makes very awkward comments to Spock's story about Sybok is just out of place. And add to that a semi-naked Uhura and Scotty hitting his head for a "Three Stooges" laugh and you begin to sink in your chair. The Klingon plot seems tacked on just to add depth to the story. And by the time we see where the movie is going, we just feel very disappointed and underwhelmed.

That said, I can't help but enjoy the wealth of good character moments in the film. I for one liked the campfire scene and the attempts of deep philosophy about old age and death. I also liked exploring the "pain" of McCoy and Spock and Kirk's insistence that he "needs his pain." While most of the humor was forced and bad, the best had to be the "I could use a shower" scene, which is one of the biggest laughs in all of the Trek films. There were many moments of good direction by Shatner, especially in McCoy's "pain scene." I do sympathize with Shatner a little, when listening to the commentary track, about how this was cut and that was cut but I still think on a whole, this movie was doomed to fail.

The DVD's picture is sharp and the sound is excellent. The extras are quite good but I would have liked more insight as to what went wrong with the film besides tight schedule and budget. Shatner's commentary with his daughter is good but has too many quiet moments. Check out the hidden and brief "comic reel."

At this point in time, I do rank Star Trek V above Nemesis, mainly due to that movie's bad continuity issues but just barely. Still, it is Star Trek and if you like the characters, just sit back, don't expect much and enjoy the show.

Rating:
Summary: Is it possible to give NO stars?
Review: I watched this thing on ACID and it still sucked rocks. Pitiful.